Kite didn't pull the trigger—but his eyes stayed locked on the monstrous crocodile Chimera Ant. The gaping wound in its head, left by his earlier shot, was healing rapidly.
Too rapidly.
And that healing came at a price—the dark aura surrounding the creature visibly thinned. It was burning its nen—its grudge—to sustain itself.
Kite caught a low mutter from the beast's mouth:
"Kill... kill all humans… eat them all…"
It was more than instinct. There was an intent behind those words. A vow—perhaps even a Nen contract, sacrificing its reasoning and perhaps its soul to sustain this unnatural resurrection.
Suddenly—
Killua appeared beside Joey in a blur of motion, grabbed him, and vanished.
In the next instant, a thunderous explosion lit up the night behind them.
A mushroom cloud bloomed from the forest—centered on the crocodile Ant.
Kite had fired the hand cannon once Joey was clear.
But even through the shockwave, Joey noticed something.
Sheer Heart Attack—the skeleton tank—was still moving.
Still chasing.
Still screaming.
"Be careful! That thing's not dead yet!" Joey shouted.
Kite either didn't hear or chose not to respond. His hand cannon had already transformed, the clown's mouth spinning numbers again.
6.
The weapon reverted to the clown-faced katana.
Kite stood ready.
But his gaze wasn't focused on the explosion—he was looking past it, far into the forest. Toward what they had earlier guessed to be the direction of the Chimera Ant nest.
"You three—GO!" he barked.
As his voice rang out, something streaked out of the smoke.
A massive shadow burst from the inferno—at the same time, a giant severed head tumbled from the flames, bouncing grotesquely across the forest floor.
Before they could process what was happening, Kite was already moving.
In one swift motion, he kicked Gon clear out of the way.
But that brief delay came at a cost.
A sharp flash—a slash—
Kite's left arm flew off in a spray of blood.
Gon screamed.
His aura surged in a wave of grief and rage.
But before he could act, Killua jumped—and slammed both fists into the back of Gon's head, knocking him unconscious.
And then…
She appeared.
Neferpitou.
Slender. Feminine. Cat-like. Inhuman.
She stepped into the light of the dying fire with unhurried grace.
She looked down at her arm—Kite's blade had left a wound. A clean cut across her forearm.
A slow, curious sound escaped her lips.
"…Huh?"
Her tone was almost playful.
At her feet, Sheer Heart Attack screeched again.
"ROASTED CHICKEN COMING UP!"
BOOM.
The explosion engulfed her.
Flames, smoke, ash.
But through the smoke, a claw reached out—gripping the tank tightly in its death-pull.
BOOM.
The second explosion followed immediately.
Joey didn't wait to see what happened next.
He and Killua—with the unconscious Gon slung over Killua's back—fled.
They ran.
Only a hundred meters out, Joey felt a violent tearing pain in his left hand.
Blood sprayed from his wrist.
Sheer Heart Attack had been destroyed.
Killer Queen appeared instantly. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and formed a blade with two fingers.
With a swift motion, he severed Joey's left hand.
Blood flew.
Joey turned ghost-white.
But Killer Queen retrieved the hand, shoved it into Joey's chest pocket, and began bandaging the bleeding stump on the run—using cloth ripped from Joey's bag.
Killua glanced at him, expression unreadable.
He hadn't expected Joey to act with such ruthless decisiveness.
But there was no time to ponder.
The weight of Neferpitou's presence still pressed on his mind.
That suffocating terror…
Killua realized something then. In Pitou's judgment, Kite, missing an arm, was still more dangerous than all three of them combined.
If Kite had been alone from the beginning… maybe he wouldn't have lost a limb so quickly.
"We're too weak," Killua thought bitterly. "And too arrogant."
Joey, meanwhile, was spiraling.
Why now? Why here? Pitou was never supposed to appear this far from the nest. Even at her max range, this was too far.
Was it the Death Waltz?
Had the dragonfly spy reported back—prompting Pitou to respond personally?
Shit.
What now?
Will Kite die?
Can I even escape NGL like Kite planned?
Can I live a normal life after this?
But there was no time for spirals.
Joey forced his focus back.
First, survive.
Then escape.
If he lost his hand permanently… maybe he could go to Greed Island one day.
Could Breath of the Archangel restore it?
He clutched that idea tightly.
Maybe. Just maybe.
And he had another thought—one more desperate.
One that might solve the hand problem altogether.
BOOM.
The explosions hadn't stopped.
Sheer Heart Attack had detonated in full—unleashed without Joey's control or restraint.
The blast had clearly moved… drifting toward the base.
Was Kite trying to lure Pitou there?
But… fighting in those cramped tunnels? Isn't that a huge disadvantage for him?
Joey and Killua locked eyes for a moment—both thinking the same thing.
Neither spoke.
They just ran harder.
Half an hour later—
A thunderous shockwave ripped through the forest.
Behind them, the entire sky turned red.
Half the sky over the NGL base burned crimson—lit by fire, dust, and raw energy.
"…Kite…" Killua whispered.
The grief in his voice was hard to hide.
They both knew.
The base's munitions stockpile had been detonated.
And surviving that was close to impossible.
More than an hour passed before they finally reached the checkpoint's edge.
Panting. Soaked in sweat. Pale and worn.
Joey collapsed onto a rocky outcrop, clutching his bandaged stump. He couldn't go any farther. This was his limit.
Killua nodded silently and sprinted ahead toward the station.
Joey watched him go—then looked at the massive tree in the distance.
Longing filled his eyes.
He glanced down at his missing hand.
Tears welled—half from pain, half from sheer helplessness.
He'd thought escaping the village was the worst it would get.
But this… this was worse.
Damn that crocodile. If it hadn't targeted me, I wouldn't have needed to deploy Sheer Heart Attack. I wouldn't have lost control.
Joey clenched his jaw.
Never again.
If he ever reattached that hand—if he ever got a second chance—
He'd never release Sheer Heart Attack without complete control.
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